Leap of Faith
by Modification
Summary: Set in sixteenth century in Japan. In later chapters, will be a crossover between GX and 5Ds. In this time, monster spirits are actually solid monsters and are often used by people as weapons as war. Young Judai Yuki and his friends set out to fight the uprising evil.
1. Chapter 1

**Sixteenth Century Japan**

Judai looked up to find himself in his wooden bed. His mother rushed into the room, a terrified look on her face.

"Judai!" She shouted, running up to him and grabbing his arm. Judai felt himself being dragged out of his bedroom and into their small kitchen. His father stood by the front door, bags in hand.

"Where are we going?" Judai asked, curiously looking at the bags in his father's hands.

"It's not safe here anymore. The soldiers are coming." Judai's father replied.

Judai's mother grabbed his arm again and dragged him out of the house. The once beautiful grass was now burnt and red. Dozens of dead bodies were scattered across the village. Judai looked down and recognized one corpse as the local baker, Shizuka.

Judai leaned down to inspect some of the corpses, when he felt his mother's hand slip from his grasp.

"Mother!" Judai shouted, looking around for any sign of his mother and father. The fields were now surrounded by fire, which Judai had not seen before.

"Mother!" Judai ran through the fields, being careful to avoid the fire, but his sandal collided against a rock and he felt himself slip down onto his back.

When he looked up, he was completely surrounded by flames. He tried to bat the flames away but found his hand burned by the flames.

He put his arms over his head and tried to shield himself from the flames. The flames were getting much closer now. He could feel them tearing at the soles of his feet and inwardly bit back a scream. The flames shrieked as they closed in on him. He closed his eyes desperately, trying not to look at the flames but found himself completely entranced by their demonic dance. The shrieks of the flames grew louder, and like a tidal wave, they collapsed on him. He wasn't sure if the screaming was the flames or his own.

...

Judai woke up with a start in bed. He heard a yelling sound before he realized that the yelling had come from him. His elderly mother, Ayako rushed into the room. Despite being his mother, Ayako had looked nothing like the mother in his dream. Whenever he tried to ask them about his dreams, Ayako callously shrugged them off and gave him chores to do.

"Judai!" Ayako exclaimed, her voice full of panic. She ran over to his bed and placed a wrinkly hand on his forehead. "Are you alright, Judai?"

Judai shrugged Ayako's hand off of his forehead. "Yes, mother. I just had that dream again."

"Oh. Well. Try to be more quiet." Ayako's voice was now cold and emotionless.

Judai knew better than to try and argue with Ayako. Any time he tried to ask her why she hated talking about the past so much, she would snap at him and end the discussion.

Judai leaned back onto his pillow and found himself unable to sleep. He looked around the room, hoping for some kind of comfort. The room had looked nothing like the bedroom in his dream. Nothing made any sense at all. For months, he'd been plagued by this same dream. He didn't know what the dream was trying to tell him. That place in his dream had seemed so familiar. And the woman, she had a warm feeling about her. Even though it was a dream, Judai felt safe when her hand was clasped in his, and felt genuine panic when her hand slipped from his grasp.

Ayako would never lie to him...right?


	2. Chapter 2

Judai awoke the next morning, feeling slightly confused. The sun shone brightly through his window. Even the rags, that Ayako had attempted to use as drapes, did little to stop the sun's glare.

Judai made his way over to a small wooden chest that his father, Daichi, had carved. Daichi had passed away two years ago, leaving Judai and Ayako to run their family's general store. Because Ayako was now very frail and elderly, Judai was often at the shop, working for hours at an end.

Judai opened the chest and took out a shirt and pants. The shirt was worn and had several holes in it, but it was overall, in pretty good condition, compared to his other shirts. The pants fit comfortably around his waist. It was very rare when Judai found clothes that were his exact size, so Ayako often bought clothes that were too big for him, figuring that he would eventually grow into the clothes.

Judai closed the chest and made his way downstairs. Ayako had prepared a small bowl of rice for him. The rice was bland and tasteless but overall, it was still food. Ever since, Daichi's death, Ayako had barely managed to put bread on the table. Judai would often spend long shifts running the store that could go all the way from dawn until nightfall.

Finishing his meal, Judai made his way out the front door. A group of teenage village girls were chattering excitedly. As Judai walked by them, he heard small bits of their conversation.

"Ohmigosh! Have you heard of Edo Phoenix from the Wind Village?" One girl excitedly asked the others.

"Edo Phoenix?" Another girl asked. "His name seems familiar." the girl looked deep in thought.

"Edo Phoenix is currently the youngest warlord in Japan! Apparently, he's also one of the most well known." A third girl swooned.

"That's right!" The first girl nodded. "At only fifteen years old, Edo became a warlord! My aunt lives in the Wind Village and she told me that they had some big ceremony and everything!"

"Ugh. Lucky you.." The other girls groaned. "I wish my aunt knew Edo Phoenix!"

At that point, Judai had stopped listening to their conversation. He was unfamiliar with Edo Phoenix. However, if the girl's story of Edo becoming a warlord at age fifteen was true, then Judai figured that this Edo kid must really be something special. After all, Edo was a whole year younger than Judai, and yet he was a warlord.

"Must be cool." Judai murmured to himself. "Well, not the war and killing part, but he probably gets to travel all around Japan and meet all kinds of people. Sounds sort of like an adventure."

Judai sighed as he looked down at his sandals. "I sure wish I could go on an adventure. I mean, I'd feel bad about leaving Ayako by herself, but if I could, I would love to see the world and have my own adventure." a smile crossed Judai's face. "An adventure to call my own!"

Judai continued his walk to the general store, a blissful smile on his face, from his thoughts of adventure. Judai practically floated into the store and behind the register.

"And I'd probably get to meet a lot of cute girls too!" Judai was still murmuring to himself. "And I'd have all kinds of cool friends! Maybe even Edo Phoenix would be my friend."

Due to having spent most of his time working, Judai didn't have very much time to make friends around the village. However, he was very lonely and above all things, craved friends to call his own.

"Good morning, Judai!" A boy slightly younger than Judai entered the store. The boy eagerly waved at Judai.

"Good morning, Keito." Judai greeted the young boy. "Has your mother sent you to buy some bread?"

"Yes." Keito nodded. Judai smiled at the boy and reached up to a shelf. Taking out a small paper bag, he handed it to the boy.

"Here is your bread. I hope you enjoy it." Judai smiled as Keito hugged the bag closely to his chest.

Keito reached into his pocket and took out a small sack. Pouring the contents into his hand, he counted small bronze coins. When he was finished counting, he looked up, a frown on his face.

"I can't afford it." The young boy looked like he was about to cry. Taking pity on the boy, Judai looked around to see if Ayako was watching and leaned down to whisper to the boy.

"How about just this once, I give you a special discount?" Judai whispered with a smile on his face. Keito looked surprised at first but quickly smiled.

"Really? How much?" Keito asked, looking around the store.

"Three coins." Judai replied, holding out his hand. Keito quickly placed three small coins into Judai's hand and ran out of the store, smiling widely, hugging the paper bag to his chest.

"You did a very good thing helping that young boy." A deep voice interrupted Judai as he was counting the coins. Judai looked up and smiled sheepishly. The figure with the deep voice was cloaked and his face was hidden.

"I know that his mom is sick and he has to provide for her and his little brother." Judai sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Generosity is a virtue I haven't seen in a long time." the cloaked figure continued. Reaching into his cloak, he placed a large egg on the counter. "Take this."

"How much?" Judai asked and examined the egg in surprise.

"For free." The cloaked figure replied. "The creature inside this egg is one of purity. You may not be completely pure, but you committed the first generous act I have witnessed in years. You and this creature will develop a bond like no other, so treasure that creature and remember my words."

"But, wait!" Judai protested, still examining the egg. "I can't just take this for free!" but when Judai looked up, the cloaked figure was gone.

Judai picked up the egg. "Was he being serious? Is there really something inside this egg?" Judai examined every aspect of the egg but found nothing suspicious. "Well, I guess there's no point in just leaving it here."

...

"Work is finally over!" Judai sighed with relief as the last customer exited the store, a satisfied smile on her face.

"I guess I should clean this place up." Judai got a broom and began sweeping the dusty floors. As he sweeping, he noticed a strange noise coming from the egg.

Initially brushing it off as his imagination, the noise continued and Judai could have sworn he saw the egg shaking. Finally, walking over to the counter to examine it, the egg was surrounded by a bright light, forcing Judai to cover his eyes.

When he uncovered his eyes, the egg was gone and a small, furry creature with two little angel wings had taken its place.

"Kuri, Kuri!" The creature flew around in circles, smiling at Judai. The creature raised a small claw to him in greeting.

"Whoa!" Judai ducked as the creature flew in circles around his head. "What are you?"

"Kuri, Kuri!" The winged creature waved its claws back and forth. A strange part of Judai could actually understand what it was saying. Even though the creature didn't seem to speak English or Japanese, he could understand what the creature was trying to say.

"Your name is Winged Kuriboh?" Judai asked. The creature known as Winged Kuriboh nodded and began flapping its wings. Judai attempted to figure out what it was trying to say. "You're a Monster? And you say that you're from a world called the Realm of Monsters?" Winged Kuriboh modded again.

Judai looked skeptically at Winged Kuriboh and scratched his chin. "What exactly is a 'Monster'?" Winged Kuriboh's wings began beating faster. "You say that you're a creature from Ancient Egypt? Back in Egypt, the priests used Ka to summon Monsters in order to defend their pharaoh. And now the Monsters have returned again?"

Judai continued to scratch his head as he attempted to take it all in. "Well, okay. So you're some kind of beast of Ancient Egypt. But what are you doing here? And why me?"

"Kuri, Kuri, Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh's wings began flapping frantically and its claws twitched as it attempted to explain.

"What you're trying to say is that..." Judai began, trying to listen closely to the monster. "Other humans have already discovered your kind and are using you guys as tools of war? So you came here to find help? But how do you know I won't just use you for selfish purposes?" Judai frowned.

Winged Kuriboh smiled and held out a claw to Judai. Judai seemed to understand by its smile, that it trusted him. "I see. I guess that man was holding onto you until he found someone who could commit a genuinely selfless act. He did say that you were a creature of purity. But even if what you said is all true, I can't just leave Ayako here alone. I can't even leave at all. Ayako needs me. Keito needs me. The village needs me."

Judai exited the store without a word. Winged Kuriboh frantically flapped its wings and tried to follow him. Judai ignored the creature's attempts to communicate with him. Making his way though the village, back to his and Ayako's house, he opened the front door and slammed it behind him, leaving a very miserable Winged Kuriboh floating just behind the front door.


End file.
